Anthony (Tony) W. Marshall, an executive producer of the TV series “Happy Days” and “Laverne & Shirley” and father to film directors Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall, died Monday of natural causes at his home in Toluca Lake. He was 93.
A native of the Bronx, Marshall graduated from New York U. and started out in advertising. In the 1940s and 1950s, his company, the Marshall Organization, handled radio and TV public relations and produced award-winning industrial films.
He headed to Los Angeles in 1969 to work in television with his son and daughter. He became an associate producer on “The Odd Couple,” on which Garry was exec producer.
For the next decade, he was stationed at Paramount’s TV division, where he was a producer on “Mork and Mindy” and “Happy Days” along with his daughter’s vehicle “Laverne & Shirley.” Garry Marshall was creator of “Laverne & Shirley” and “Happy Days,” and exec produced the sitcoms.
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Tony Marshall retired from TV in the early 1980s.
In addition to his son and daughter, he is survived by daughter Ronny Marshall Hallin, a TV producer with Miller-Boyett, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Family requests that donations in his name be made to the Alzheimer’s Assn.
